Featured Hall of Famer: Elroy Hirsch

April 11, 2006

"I must have looked pretty funny," Elroy Hirsch admitted, remembering how a Chicago sportswriter had christened him "Crazy Legs" after his 62-yard touchdown run helped Wisconsin beat a Great Lakes Naval Training Center team in 1942. "I've always run kind of funny because my left foot points out to the side and I seem to wobble," Hirsch explained. Hirsch played halfback one year at Wisconsin, 1942, and the team had an 8-1-1 record. He was a Marine trainee at Michigan in 1943, and his team went 8-1. Hirsch lettered at Michigan in football, baseball, basketball and track, the first four-sport letterman in the school's history. Hirsch was with the El Toro Marine team in 1945. He was named most valuable player in the 1946 All-Star Game, scoring two touchdowns in the Collegians' 16-0 victory over the Washington Redskins. Hirsch played pro football with the Chicago Rockets 1946-48 and Los Angeles Rams 1949-57. The Rams moved him to flanker, and he set pro records for pass receptions. He made a movie titled "Crazy Legs, All- American." Hirsch was the University of Wisconsin athletic director 1969-87. He was born June 17, 1923, in Wausau, Wisconsin.